


The Misadventures of Sensational Shark Princess and Ginto Piniks

by IceQueen975



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, The Legend of the Red Comet
Genre: Alcohol, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, Crossover, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Past Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Superheroes, crossover AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-10 13:17:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6986635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceQueen975/pseuds/IceQueen975
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“In the daytime, I’m just a regular high school student.”<br/>“But at night? Well… let’s just say I have a secret.”<br/>“After all, if I don’t protect Manila-”<br/>“-who the hell will?”</p>
<p>Tenshi Kinouna simply wanted to survive to 18. After that, did it really matter? He didn't want to be a superhero. He didn't care that the world needed saving; he just wanted to exist. Then again, the powers ARE pretty cool and that Sensational Shark Princess WAS pretty hot. But now he can't help but wonder; will he fall to the monsters he's fighting or to the monster in his own house?</p>
<p>(A crossover AU of Miraculous Ladybug and my own work, Legend of the Red Comet.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Birth of Ginto Piniks

“This is a stupid idea.” the small, shimmering creature muttered in its deep voice. “You may be harmed.”

“But he’s the right one! And I sadly can’t just walk up and give it to him.” the petite girl sighed before standing up straight and adjusting her uniform skirt and glossy hair. “There’s no choice.”

“Weilai…”

“What? Don’t think I’m tough enough to do it?”

“Oh, I know how dangerous you can be.” The small elf-like being glowed, floating up. Weilai extended her hand, palm open, and the small being landed. “Particularly as Orkidyas. But I would rather you not put yourself in unneeded harm.”

The girl smiled. “You’re sweet Keto. Just have faith.” With that statement, she opened her school bag. The creature called Keto floated inside and hid itself. Weilai snapped the clasp closed before walking with her head held high, gold and ruby ring hidden in the fist that grasped her school bag. She turned the corner and encountered the gang just as planned. She acted startled, pretending she didn’t know that they would be there.

“Well lookit here; we found a little bunny rabbit!” one of the teen boys exclaimed happily. “What are you doing here?” The teen stood up from leaning against the wall, leering.

Weilai took a step back, lifting her bag as if trying to hide. “I-I’m just trying to get h-home…” she squeaked with practiced ease.

“First time seeing you here.” a girl commented, smacking her metal bat lightly against her calf. The short, choppy hair and muffled voice from behind a medical face mask decorated with waves would have made the girl mistaken for a boy if it weren’t for the long pleated skirt. Weilai couldn’t help but note that the overall impression was that of an old-fashioned _Yanki_ from the 90s.

“I j-just started S-sangang-Daan M-middle School.” Weilai whispered, soft hazel-green eyes wide. She was the picture of innocent fear.

The wave-masked _Yanki_ girl sighed. “What do ya wanna do Boss?” the girl asked. The boy in question was perched precariously on a stack of old shipping crates, letting smoke slowly escape from his slightly parted lips. He didn’t seem to be paying attention much to what was going on.

“Hmmm?” His dark chocolate eyes looked at Weilai. It was like looking into a cold, desolate night sky with how dark and apathetic the gaze was. She shivered; those were the eyes of someone who had lost their will to live. “You just start there?” he asked, voice monotonous but still rich-sounding.

“Yes…” she replied slowly, letting fear seep into her tone.

The leader took another drag from his cigarette – cigar, Weilai corrected herself upon seeing that it was a Black & Mellow – while crooking his finger, indicating she should come to him. She did as motioned and once she was standing in front of him, the teen boy purposefully blew the smoke into her face. She coughed at the sudden release of cigar smoke. It smelled of tobacco, sweet cherries and alcohol. He laughed, a grin that could have been charming had it not been so malicious crossing his features. “My name is Tenshi. Tenshi Kinouna. This is my territory, do you understand?” The petite girl nodded. “What’s your name?”

“Weilai….” she replied slowly.

“Well Weilai, welcome to Manila. Because if you actually lived here you would know not to come here without tribute. You’re a transfer right?” The girl simply nodded. “Where from?”

“Seoul…”

“Looks like we got a fancy-ass bitch right here folks!” someone crowed and the whole gang laughed except for Tenshi and the wave-masked _Yanki_ girl.

The _Yanki_ smacked her bat sharply into the guy’s side and he yelped in pain. “Shut up Seong-Wook.” she snapped. “You’re Korean too.”

“Whatever. Nasty half-breed…” the young man muttered under his breath at the end. The young woman looked like she was about to smack him again when Tenshi put a hand on her arm. He then skewered a dark look at the other teen boy who quieted, apologizing quickly.

Tenshi turned back to Weilai. “Sorry about that. Now, in regard to tribute. Money always works. ‘Cash is King’ and all that. Food works too. And booze of course. Oh, and hentai for Gali, she loves the stuff.” he added cheerfully at the end, smiling teasingly at the _Yanki_.

“Holy shit dude, what the fuck!” Gali snapped, glaring down at Tenshi. Weilai now saw that behind the long, choppy bangs were a pair of rich, dark-blue eyes.

“What? It’s true girls find the best smut and shit right? Thought it was only right to add it for her list.”

Gali sighed and ran her hand down her face in exasperation. “You’re missing the point again.”

“Anyway.” Tenshi turned back to her. “Remember to bring tribute and you’ll be fine.” The boy suddenly reached forward and grabbed Weilai’s chin, bringing her face close to his. He smirked, dark eyes glittering in amusement. “We’ll let you pass this time but remember; next time you pay up. Or we won’t be so nice.” He let go and she stumbled back, purposefully falling into Gali’s personal space.

The older girl shoved Weilai away but not before Weilai let go of her bag, dropping it to disguise placing the gold and red ring into Gali’s leather jacket pocket. She fell to the ground, short school skirt falling in such a way that her orchid-purple lace panties were exposed. Several of the boys and a couple of girls wolf whistled. She shoved her skirt down in genuine embarrassment and quickly scrambled to get her school bag. It had skidded to Tenshi’s feet and he watched her grab it and back away with cold detachment. The middle school girl quickly fled, making sure to make it look like she was starting to cry. She heard laughter as she ran.

After a few blocks she stopped and noted with unhappiness that one of her socks was ripped at the knee. “Gonna have to buy some new ones.”

“I’ll assume flashing your underwear wasn’t part of the plan?” Keto asked dryly.

“No not really.” Weilai sighed. “At least I was wearing a nice pair today.”

Keto wriggled out from the bag and floated up to face Weilai. “Did you drop the ring?”

“In that girl’s pocket. Yes.”

“But I thought Tenshi Kinouna was who should get it?” Keto asked in confusion.

“Gali is obviously his second and the enforcer. She’ll find it and give it to Tenshi.” she explained while dusting herself off from the earlier fall.

“Let’s see then.”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

“Shame she’s a middle schooler; I’d totally bang her.” a gang member commented through the laughter. Tenshi threw his Black & Mild to the concrete ground, grinding it with his heel. He stood up and stretched.

“Gonna make a snack run. Anyone want anything?” he asked. A few voices rang out for requests of specific chips, cookies, sodas and energy drinks. After noting everything he went off, Gali at his heels.

“You let her off cause she’s young, didn’t you Boss?” the girl asked. Tenshi just made a non-comital noise. “Deep down you still give a damn.”

“Do I?” he asked back, voice sounding tired. “I’m not sure anymore.”

The high school girl shrugged and shoved her hands in her jacket. She felt something small and hard in her left pocket and pulled out the foreign object. It was a ring made of solid gold, a big, beautiful ruby in the center. There was a phoenix design etched on the band on either side of the ruby. “The fuck is this?” she muttered, stopping in the middle of the road. Tenshi grabbed his friend’s arm and dragged her to the other side and onto the sidewalk before looking himself.

He let out a low whistle “That must cost a small fortune in this market.” he observed. “Did that Weilai girl drop it?

“Looks like a men’s ring. And I didn’t see a ring on her or her holding one so it can’t be hers.” Gali looked up and held the ring out to Tenshi. “Try it on.”

“Why me?”

“It’s a men’s ring, like a said. Plus you’re the leader so you get top pick.” she added at the end, grinning.

Tenshi snorted and took the ring. “I doubt it’ll fit.” he commented off hand before slipping the gold object onto his right ring finger.

It fit perfectly.

“The fuck…?” The metal felt unnaturally warm on his skin, even considering it came from Gali’s jacket pocket. The red of the ruby seemed to almost glow in how saturated the color was. The warmth seemed to crawl up from the gold band, quickly seeping into Tenshi’s skin and bones. Suddenly, it was like cotton had been removed from his ears as the sounds around him increased, intensified, almost to the point of dizziness. He could hear Gali breathing, his own blood and pulse, the birds on the telephone wires, the couple arguing across the street, the people in the grocery store milling around despite the store door being closed. Tenshi stumbled back and Gali quickly steadied him.

“Yo, you okay? You look sick….”

“Headache.” Tenshi grimaced, the noise still too much. “Everything’s too loud.”

“Told you you shouldn’t have had that vodka. That shit hits you after and you had a lot.”

“It was Skittles vodka! I like cherry...” Tenshi argued childishly.

Gali smirked. “Maybe the ring gave you super powers.” she snickered before making woo-woo hand gestures. Tenshi chuckled, though the noise still bothered him. “Come on, let’s get those assholes their order.”

“I think I’ll head home after we deliver the goods.” Tenshi sighed as the two walked into the store. The electrical ‘bing!’ of the automatic door sent an unpleasant shock through him at how high of a pitch it was. He could hear the electricity humming in the lights of the store.

“Good idea.” the girl agreed, patting his back lightly. Neither had noticed that along the telephone wires outside the store, a small bird whose red plumage seemed to have a shimmering gold sheen to it watched the pair of delinquents. Tenshi and Gali quickly grabbed the requested items as the store clerk eyed them warily. Tenshi could hear the clerk muttering to himself about ‘those waste of space kids’ despite being all the way in the back of the store. He bit his chapped lips, getting worried. _This isn’t normal. Not in the least. How am I even hearing this?!_ He could also hear someone using the employee restroom and grimaced in disgust. Gali looked at him in confusion as she pulled out a few bottles of soda from the display. He simply waved her off.

They went up to pay for their items and the clerk eyed them with distrust and bald hatred. “How do I know you didn’t seal this money?” he asked.

“And why the fuck do you care as long as we pay old man.” Gali snapped back. Her voice sounded too loud to Tenshi and he winced, covering the ear facing her.

The clerk noticed. “What, you hungover brat? That’s what you get you know!”

“Just let us pay, damn…” Gali growled in anger, hands itching for her metal bat.

“It’s a free country. I sure as hell can refuse service to you. Especially since you’re minors.”

“That’s illegal you bastard!” Gali snapped back. Tenshi clenched his teeth, eyes squeezed shut at all the noise.

“Let’s see who the cops’ll believe; you or me.” the clerk sneered.

Tenshi had had enough. He slammed his hand hard onto the counter, startling both participants of the fight. He opened his eyes to glare at the clerk and, unknown to him, they flashes a brilliant gold. The clerk flinched at seeing the teen’s eyes turn gold. “Take our money. We’ll take the goods we paid for. Stop starting shit for no reason.”

The clerk nodded and rung them up quickly. As they left, Gali in a much better mood, Tenshi heard the man whisper to himself; “A demon in my store… I need to call the pastor oh God I need to call him…” The automatic doors opened with another ‘bing!’, letting the pair out from the heavily AC’ed store back into the damp March air.

“Asshole.” Gali muttered before taking the couple of plastic bags Tesnhi held. “And _you_ should go rest. You seriously look too pale Tenshi.”

“Thanks.”

“Everything okay? Your dad giving you crap for bad grades again?” Gali asked in concern, jerking her head to the side a bit so that her long bangs fell a bit away from her dark blue eyes. Tenshi looked away, rubbing his right arm.

“I’m fine, just tired. Promise. Now go before they hunt you down for their promised junk food.”

Gali grinned. “Yeah, teenage boys are scary when hungry.” Tenshi stuck his tongue out in response. “Sleep well Ten.”

“You too Gal.” He waved and turned around heading home. He noticed the red-gold bird perched on the telephone wire. It seemed to be watching him. Tenshi shook his head. _Seriously gotta stop listening to Gali and her super hero talk. Or when she talks about magical girls too for that matter._ He grimaced as he walked down the street, pulling up his black face mask. Today it was decorated with a white design that looked akin to fire. _No one will ever save me…_ As he came to the crosswalk he sighed to himself. _And now I’m sounding like an anime protagonist. An angsty one too. Awesome._ The signal to cross blinked and he continued forward towards home. Bicyclists and other students milled around, mixed with housewives shopping at the farmer’s market and workers going home to their families. The scent of gasoline, hot tar, sickeningly sweet garbage, sweat and dirt filled the air. The heat of the sun beat down on his back, making the jacket he wore a touch stifling.

After 10 more minutes he noticed the same red-gold bird perched on a tree branch up ahead as he crossed the street again. “Are you following me?” he asked out loud, stopping to look at the bird. It tilted its head in reply and chirped. “I don’t have birdseed so just… go away.” Tenshi continued onward. _Wow, I just talked to a bird out loud. I really am losing it._ The sound of people laughing, yelling, talking and really just living was making his head pound. That mixed with the bright sun were really not helping. After another 15 minutes he was home, the thick iron gates decorated ornately. It was a personal prison.

Tenshi unlocked the gate with his key and closed it behind him. As he did the iron shook a touch and Tenshi looked up to see the same bird perched almost mockingly on the iron. “Go away damn it!” he snarled before turning and walking up the driveway to the front door in a huff.

He closed the door with a slam and turned the lock quickly before letting out a sight at the A/C and relative quiet. He could still hear the electrical hum of the refrigerator, the slow trickle of the water in the pipes. Noises and sounds that only an hour ago he wouldn’t hear at all. A sudden thought made his stomach drop in sick curiosity. _Maybe I can hear if anyone else is home…_ He stared at a nearby wall, listening. There was no sound of footsteps or movement. No sound of another person breathing. Tenshi sighed and slumped back against the door. _There is a God today._

After a few minutes he took off his jacket, revealing both the faded and new bruising. The mixture of sickly yellow-green of old injuries and the flower-like spatters of purple-red were scattered on his upper arms while a few almost totally healed bruises encircled his right wrist. Once he slipped off his shoes and put them away, Tenshi walked up the stairs. He took his time for once. The richly carved wood of the stair railing slid smoothly below his fingers, the plush cream carpet feeling nice under his sore feet. He took off his face mask and shoved it into his jacket pocket. Down the hall he reached his door and entered his bedroom, enjoying the deep red of the walls. Closing and locking the door behind him, Tenshi sighed. He dropped his jacket and bag at his wood desk before unceremoniously falling down onto his bed.

“I love you bed. Never leave me.” he sighed happily, grabbing one of the many beige pillows and cuddling it. Doing so caused the ring on his right hand to shine with the light of the now setting sun. Tenshi turned onto his back and lifted his hand, looking at the ring. _I wonder how this got in Gali’s pocket._ Frowning, a thought occurred to the teenager; _My hearing was normal before this ring. When I put it on, that’s when it felt like it got kicked up to 9,000._ With that thought, Tenshi took the ring off his finger and threw it across the room moodily. It bounced off the far wall and fell into the plush red carpet, gleaming innocently. Tenshi listened for a moment. _I can still hear everything._ He groaned out loud before turning his head to glare at the ring as if it had personally offended him. “This is all your fault. Somehow.” He sighed and covered his eyes with his arms. “Seriously, what the fuck is going on!?” he sulked.

A tapping on the window startled the teen boy, the sound feeling like a drill in his skull. He jerked his head to see the same red-gold bird tapping on the window. “Okay you….” He got off and yanked the window open. The bird flew in as if it owned the place. Tenshi closed the window again and looked for the bird. It was currently perched on the pillow he had just been cuddling moments ago, preening innocently. Tenshi glared at the bird. “Why the fuck are you following me?”

The bird paused its preening and looked up. “Because you have the ring. Duh.”

Tenshi yelped and stumbled back. “You talked! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING!!??!”

“How else am I supposed to talk to you? Telepathy? That’s more Zenshou’s shtick, the dork…” the bird replied before going to preen again. Through his panic, Tenshi noted the voice sounded distinctly female. The teen slowly backed away, blindly reaching behind him for something to throw at the possible demon bird. “So anyway, I’m Tokiko and-“ The bird was interrupted as a textbook was thrown at it. The bird let out a sharp cry of shock and flew up, dodging the book. “What are you doing!?”

“Get out of my house!”

“You let me in you jack-ass!” Tokiko snapped back. “I need to explain things to you!”

“Oh I’ve got a pretty good idea what you’re gonna explain.” Tenshi threw another book and Tokiko dodged. “You’re gonna tell me how some great evil or apocalypse is gonna destroy the town or the world or whatever.” Another book was thrown and dodged. “Well I’ll let you in on something; I. Don’t. Care!” The fourth book was let loose. “The world can burn. Fuck, I’d be glad if it did; what’s the world ever done for me!!!” Yet another book was thrown, making a heavy smack sound as it hit the wall. Tenshi wasn’t even aiming at this point; he was just angry. He was panting now, chest heaving under his white button up school shirt.

Tokiko fluttered back down onto the pillows, looking at Tenshi accusingly. “So you’ll just let people suffer huh? All right. But it’s a shame really… you being so cruel and abusive.”

The teenager froze. “What… did you say….” Tokiko took off again, flying until she was hovering expectantly in front of Tenshi’s face. Hesitantly, he lifted his right hand with an extended finger for the bird to perch. It did just that.

“Sure, this could be someone else’s problem. I could probably find someone else. But you have a strong will and soul. And…” Tokiko trailed of, head turning this way and that as she observed the bruises on Tenshi’s arms. “I would think you of all people would want to stop suffering.”

“…why should I even care…” His voice was thick with pain.

“Because I can tell you wish there was someone who had helped you when you were hurting. By being a superhero, by becoming Ginto Piniks, you can do that for others.”

The reaction was sharp, quick and visceral. Tenshi’s eyes become hot with tears which quickly ran down his face in thick streams. He bit his lip harshly to keep it from quivering. He closed his eyes, feeling himself settle on his decision. But really, did he have a choice? Not because of the superpowers that seemed to even now be growing inside him like a virus but the fact that deep down, locked away in a small place, he still hoped something would save him. And maybe this was what would do it. “What do I have to do?” he whispered after a few minutes, voice cracking a bit with the tears and feeling resigned. His throat felt closed up.

“You’ll hear when you need to help. People screaming in panic tends to be distinctive.” Tokiko gave a small bird shrug.

“Yeah speaking of that…” Tenshi wiped the tears from his face as best he could with his left hand. “How do I turn this off?

“You kind of don’t.” Tokiko hopped lightly up his right arm all the way to the boy’s shoulder. He wiped the rest of the tears and snot as best he could. “But you can adjust it. Dull and sharpen your hearing at will. It’ll take practice though.”

“Course it will…” Tenshi walked over to where the ring had fallen after being thrown and put it back onto his finger. “What is this thing anyway?”

“It’s your Miraculous.”

“My what?”

“It’s the item you use to transform into Ginto Piniks.” Tokiko explained.

“That’s Golden Phoenix right? In Filipino anyway. Sort of…”

“That’s right. The language of the name changed but the superhero is always the same. “

Tenshi walked over to his desk and sat down into the carved wooden chair. There was barely any light anymore outside. Tenshi knew he should turn on the lights be he wanted to stay in the dark for a bit. “There were others before me?”

“Of course. The Golden Phoenix has existed all over the world; Korea, China, Germany, Norway, Romania, the Ottoman Empire, Argentina, even the Roman Empire. Every reincarnation different, every task unique.” the magical bird explained.

“Huh… that’s kind of interesting actually.” Tenshi lay his head on his arms which were crossed on the desk to act as a cushion. “Are there other superheroes like me?”

“I’m… I’m not sure…” Even though it shouldn’t have been possibly, Tenshi was quite sure Tokiko had a concerned expression on her face. “I can’t really remember…”

“You mentioned someone or something named Zenshou earlier.”

“I did? I don’t recall that.”

The teen looked at the magical being and shook his head. “Not important.” He sat up. “So what powers do I have?”

Once again, if Tokiko had been human Tenshi was quite sure she would be smiling mischievously. “Why not transform and find out? That tends to be the best way.”

“Okay then.” He stood up. “What do I do.”

“Just say ‘Wings out’. That’s it. Oh, and I suggest a cool transforming pose.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s cool! Duh.”

Tenshi made a face. “No.” He took a breath and let it out slow. He couldn’t help but listen again, seeing if anyone was home. There was still no sound of another living being except for himself and Tokiko in the house. “Oh, I should probably tell you my name.”

“It’s Tenshi. I heard the other girl in the long skirt call you that.”

“And you said you name is Tokiko?”

“Yep!”

“So you’re a girl bird?” Tenshi asked.

“Am I?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“I’m not sure…” Tokiko trailed off again. “Anyway, try and transform.”

The teen boy sighed. “I’m gonna look so stupid…” He then lifted his right hand into the air in a fist. “Wings out?” Even though it was more a question than a statement, it didn’t matter. The magical bird seemed to dissolve into fiery wisps that were sucked into the ruby of the ring. A warm and bright golden light extended from the ring and ran down Tenshi’s body. He felt his eyes go wide in shock, a pleasurable feeling akin to getting in a good stretch after sitting for so long or the slight adrenaline rush after running coursing through his body. After a few seconds the light dimmed and disappeared. Tenshi looked down at himself and started. It was too dark to see properly but he seemed to be in something made of a mix of silk and spandex.

He quickly went over and turned on the light of his bedroom. When he flipped the switch he gaped at what he could see. When he went to his closet where the full length mirror rested to get a better look he started, jumping back a little; the young man in the mirror couldn’t be him, could it? He had gold hair that seemed to shimmer a bit as the strands caught the light. The hair was now a bit longer too, tied back in a small ponytail. His irises had become gold, the color seeming alive and shifting like fire. He had black fingerless gloves on and a red, sleeveless tunic top with a mandarin-style collar. Crimson pants that reached halfway down his calves covered a longer pair of gold spandex pants that were tucked into black ankle boots. Huge, wide sleeves that seemed to be a cross between bell sleeves and kimono sleeves were on his arms, the fabric covered in a shimmering gold feather print, giving the impression of wings. On his face was a red mask covering his eyes. The red and gold ring was still on his right ring finger and a katana in a gold sheath rested on his left hip.

“Holy crap…” he breathed. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes he would have thought it was a dream. Hell, he was still unsure if this was really happening. If he’d thought his hearing had been amplified before, that was nothing compared to now. He winced, head pounding as he now heard absolutely everything; the creaking of wood in the house as it expanded and contracted, the ants and insects outside, the small breeze, the air moving through the AC, traffic on the highway several miles away.

The noise was too much, overloading his mind with information. Tenshi stumbled back, not wanting to crash into the mirror and hurt himself with shattered glass. He barely made it to his bed, vision tunneling and filling with black and orange spots. He gasped for air, head feeling like it was being cracked open by the noise. He heard his neighbors arguing with their daughter about her boyfriend, the reporter on the scene of a five-car pileup on the highway, the baby crying as the mother was pushing the stroller and even more. He felt himself collapse on the bed, blacking out from sensory overload.


	2. Secret Admirers

The alarm clock blared and a tanned hand slapped the “snooze” button. Or at least tried to. “Tokikoooo!!!” the lump curled up under the blankets whined. In response, the small red and gold bird glided down from her perch on a bookshelf and landed on the snooze button, stopping the blaring alarm. The form on the bed sighed at the silence and turned over to hide in the mound of pillows and blankets once more.

“It’s time for school Tenshi.” Tokiko chirped cheerfully. Tenshi simply groaned unhappily, curling up further. “Come on you lazy boy; early bird gets the worm!”

“This early bird was up ass-late, training. And fuck school…” he grumbled at the end, covering his head with a pillow.

It had been almost three months since Tenshi had first transformed into Ginto Piniks and promptly passed out from sensory overload. Since then, the teen had learned to control the sensitivity of his hearing. Granted, if he was upset or stressed or scared he tended to lose control but it was still a work in progress. Learning how to hold, use and wield a katana had been another task from hell in Tenshi’s opinion. The heavy metal felt clunky in his hands yet he was acutely aware of how dangerous it was, even in untrained hands. True, if he brought the katana to a gun fight he’d lose in a snap but it didn’t erase the nervousness of knowing one lucky swing could snuff out someone’s life.

Learning to fly had been a bit sadistic on Tokiko’s part and Tenshi still often tumbled from the sky onto the hard cement. He’d almost broken his leg at one point but luckily Tokiko had caught his sleeves in her small beak. Tenshi still wasn’t sure _how_ in the world she’s held him up but wouldn’t question it; she _was_ a magical, talking bird after all. Maybe abnormal strength was something she had?

“You told me to tell you that if you don’t wake up on time your dad’ll wake you up.” the magical bird reminded. That cause Tenshi to sit up quick in his bed, still partially tangled in the blankets and pillows.

“I’m up! I’m up…” he sighed, running a hand over his face in an attempt to become more conscious. “Why the fuck does it have to start at seven? Who was the shit who decided that…?” Tenshi stumbled out of bed, his oversized sleep shirt twisted around his torso from rolling around in his sleep.

“It’s not a bad thing to be up so early.” Tokiko offered, landing onto the cotton-sheathed shoulder.

“You’re a bird; you like being up before the fucking sun.” the teen boy snapped as he collected a couple of towels. He focused his hearing, trying to locate his father. After a few moments he heard it; the sound of newspaper as it was touched and moved. Tenshi’s father tended to read the newspaper while drinking his morning cappuccino. A bit old fashioned but it apparently helped him relax. Tenshi didn’t really care. He opened his bedroom door and silently padded down the carpeted hall to his bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind him. The bird on his shoulder flew to the shower curtain rod. “I’m still concerned that you want to shower with me.” Tenshi set down the towels on top of the closed toilet seat. “Seriously; aren’t you a girl bird?”

“Does it matter? I’m still a bird. Besides; bathing together isn’t always a sexual experience. A lot of times it’s just for bonding. In fact, back in _my_ day, communal bathing was super common. Groups of friends, siblings… and lovers of course but one out of three is the minority here.”

“And when was ‘your day’ again?” Tenshi asked, stripping his shirt off to expose the six-pack all the training had begun to carve onto his body.

Tokiko tilted her head this way and that. “Can’t recall…”

“Of course not.” the teen sighed. I’d noticed fast that Tokiko would say things, mention people, without thinking. But as soon as she was asked to clarify or explain, it was as if the memory was gone. It was bizarre and actually concerned Tenshi a bit but there wasn’t much to be done about it. He slipped the red cotton sleeping shorts off and then went to turn on the shower so the water would warm up. “Still think it’s kinda creepy.”

“You’re overthinking things.” Tokiko scoffed. “Besides, I already have someone.”

“You do?”

“Yep.”

“Who!?” Tenshi was genuinely baffled; did magical birds date? Who did they even go out with? Was there some magic version of Match.com or Tinder or something?

“Can’t remember.”

Tenshi slapped his forehead. “This is becoming a bad comedy gag…”

“I don’t remember but I just… well know. Besides; you’re my partner. And a different species. It would be awkward.” Tokiko pointed out as Tenshi shucked off his briefs and hopped into the warm water of the shower. He could feel the heat easing the throbbing of his bruises and muscles. He let out a sigh, starting to wake up somewhat.

“Do you know what screwed up your memory?” Tenshi asked, reaching for the shampoo.

“Not really, no.”

“What’s the last thing you remember before meeting me?” Tenshi asked for the nth time in the past three months. It was an old routine, trying to get Tokiko to remember but she tended to refuse.

“It’s not important. What’s important is the here and now.”

 _There it is._ Tenshi frowned unhappily as he scrubbed at his short hair. _And when my ‘now’ is shitty I’d honestly prefer the past. Least it can’t hurt me anymore._ “Tenshi?”

“Hmm?” He rinsed out his hair and began using a bit of conditioner.

“You’ll be okay. Right?”

Tenshi wasn’t sure if Tokiko was referring to right now or in general. “Maybe.” He rinsed the conditioner out of his hair.

“Tenshi?”

“What?!”

Tokiko looked at him with her gold eyes. Even though she was a bird, Tenshi somehow always felt like half her expressions were human and he wasn’t really seeing her physically but in his mind’s eye. “Can I get clean now?” she asked, gold eyes wide and innocent.

“Oh. Right.” The boy extended his cupped hands and Tokiko hopped down from the shower curtain rod. Tenshi held her under the stream of warm water and she chirped happily, tilting her head this way and that, extending her wings to catch the cleaning water and even rolling around in Tenshi’s hands a few times so the water stream would hit her underbelly. After one last roll she stood up again.

“I’m ready!” she informed, tone happy. Tenshi couldn’t help but smile a bit; Tokiko’s silly antics and chipper attitude – while irritating at times – had its moments. He placed the red-gold bird on a small shower shelf in the corner where she contently preened her feather, using the water to clean the dirt in her feathers and distributing the oil. Meanwhile, Tenshi grabbed the body wash and put some on a wash cloth before scrubbing his arms, leg, torso and everywhere else. After he finished, he rinsed off the soap and reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste.

Just as he was about to put some of the toothpaste on the brush there was a sharp knock on the bathroom door. “Tenshi?” The teen stifled a yelp, his body turning right away so that he faced the shower wall, back turned to the steamed-over glass shower door.

“Yes?” he asked, voice calm and muscles tight.

“I’ll be heading into the office. Don’t be late today; it’s the first day of the new school year.” his father instructed.

“Yes father.”

“Your lunch is on the counter.” Tenshi didn’t move a muscle, staring wide-eyed at the subway titles on the wall as he listened to his father walk back down the hall and stairs. It wasn’t until, with his enhanced hearing, he heard the front door close and lock that he relaxed. Shaking, his knees give way as he sunk inelegantly to the shower floor.

“…are you okay Tenshi?” Tokiko asked after a few minutes of silence, the only sound being Tenshi’s harsh breathing and the water falling down.

The teen swallowed. “… I keep waiting for the day he comes in.” he admitted, voice rough. Tokiko came down from her perch and Tenshi caught her as she fell since her wings were too water logged to fly. He brought the small, warm creature to his chest and she snuggled against the boy, trying her best to soothe him. He simply sat there, trying to calm his racing pulse so that he could put on his façade once more.

 

\-----------------------------------

 

Gali was already at Cioccolata Churros Café when Tenshi arrived. She was contently sipping her iced English Toffee Mocha in the early morning haze. “Dude, what took you so long?”

“Woke up late.” Tenshi lied, sitting down on the metal chair outside the upscale café. It was a bit out of the way but Gali liked the coffee and Tenshi liked both the churros and the other treat he got to see at 6:34 a.m sharp. The waitress came over with a menu for Tenshi and he thanked her before she went off to serve other guests.

“Ready for the new year?” The Yanki girl took a bite of her pressed tuna sandwich.

“Not really. Fucking swear if they separate us again for homeroom…”

“Hey, we still have lunch, after school and maybe a few classes. It’s not THAT bad.” Gali insisted.

Tenshi made a non-committal noise as the waitress came back. “Ready to order?”

“Could I get some coffee caramel churros and jasmine tea?” Tenshi ordered.

“No problem.” The girl wrote down the order, sneaking a glance at her customer. “Anything else?”

“That’s it for now, thanks.” The waitress smiled winningly at Tenshi before going off to place the order with the barista and kitchen.

“Jasmine tea? What are you, an old man?” Gali razzed her leader.

The need rolled his eyes. “Better an old man then a little kid.”

“Yo, this little kid can kick your ass. In a skirt. And heels. I think I’ve earned the right.”

"Yet you still wear your middle school uniform shirt." Tenshi teased. The girlstuck out her tongue and the pair fell into laughter, grinning.

The sound of heels clicking on the street in a calm, stead rhythm stopped Tenshi’s laughter. He looked up to see just who he had been waiting. She was reading a thick book though he couldn’t make out the title. Her long hair swayed as she walked along with the short, black plaid school skirt. The high school boy let his gaze roam up and down the girl’s figure, lingering at her hips, her legs, the slices of skin exposed between the tops of her thigh high socks and skirt hem. He felt a grin spread on his face. “Oh God, Tenshi, don’t…” Gali muttered, pulling up her face mask in embarrassment. “Just leave her alone of fucking ask her out already.” Today the girl’s mask was patterned in a black plaid design to match her school outfit.

“Good morning Princess!” Tenshi crowed as the high school girl. She looked up from her reading, warm chocolate eyes looking for the source of the noise. When they landed on Tenshi her eyes narrowed coldly. He grinned back.

“Kinouna. Haven’t you been sent off to juvie by now?” the girl asked cruelly.

“Oh come now Princess; I’m just saying good morning.”

“I have a name.”

“Mmm, I know.” Tenshi was grinning like a Cheshire cat, leaning back with his arm draped over the back of the metal chair. “But I think ‘Princess’ suites your better-than-you arrogance more.”

“But I _am_ better than you. So I’ll take the compliment.” she smiled back, all teeth and ice. “And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were stalking me. That’s illegal last I heard. Maybe I should get a restraining order?”

Tenshi could easily hear the threat under the off-handed tone. “But I haven’t done anything illegal. I’m here with my best friend-“ He motioned to Gali, “and you just happen to pass by. That’s not my problem. Besides; I love the churros. But I have a bit of a sweet tooth.” He purposely let his eyes slide down to her legs and his grin grew larger before snapping back to the girl’s face. “So it’s an empty threat. Nice try though.”

“Harassment then.”

“Wouldn’t hold in a court of law. Just because you don’t like attention doesn’t mean it’s illegal. Become a nun if it’s that much of an issue for you.”

With a growl, the girl took a few steps towards Tenshi until she was right in front of him. He looked up, seeing she was ready to hit him with her heavy book. “You’re a perverted, womanizing piece of slacker shit Kinouna.”

“Careful; if you do what you want to do that’ll be assault and battery. AND there are witnesses.” Tenshi murmured, dark eyes glittering with cruel amusement. He vaguely noted the title of the book; _Legend of the Red Comet_.

“One day that smart mouth of yours will get you in deep shit.” the girl warned darkly, eyes full of hatred.

“I’ll keep that in mind Sasami.” The girl, Sasami, abruptly pulled away and began to leave. “By the way!” Tenshi called back, his head dangling upside down from the chair back to see her. Sasami turned despite her better judgment. “I come because I like the way you walk.” he purred. She let out a noise of disgust and promptly walked again, pace quick. Tenshi laughed as the waitress came back. She smiled in confusion as she set down the tea and churros.

“Dude, seriously; she’s gonna snap one day and beat you to a bloody pulp with those thick books she reads.” Tenshi shrugged in response to Gali’s warning, dipping the fried dough into the coffee caramel sauce. “Just ask her out already; the sexual tension between you two is kinda pathetic at this point.”

“Mmm, but Gali, there’s one issue here.” He took a bite. “She’s a total bitch. Like, don’t get me wrong; she’s hot as sin. But she’s also a total harpy. Rather have a fun fling with her then a commitment. But she’s a goody-two-shoes so there’s no hope for that.” Another bite of the confection. “So I’ll just vent my frustration.”

The Yanki girl sighed and took to sipping her drink through the straw. She knew arguing with him would be pointless.

 

\-----------------------------------

 

Sasami couldn’t get back into her book. She had been hoping she wouldn’t see Kinouna and his lackey today but it seemed luck was not on her side. She’d tried to be early, hoping to miss him but sadly she’d overslept and had run out the door with toast in her mouth. Now, long-eaten, her stomach rumbled for more. She sighed and put the thick book away in her school bag. In a few minutes she reached the front gates of Pagasa High School. A petite girl with her hair half tied back by a white plaid ribbon waited by the gates idyll. “Good morning Weilai.”

The girl looked at the other, hazel eyes bright. “Good morning Sasami- _seonbae_.”

“You really don’t need to do that.”

“But you’re my senior. So, _Seonbae_.” the Korean girl replied cheerfully. She looked at Sasami, seeing the tension on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Kinouna.”

“Oooh…” She gave the older girl a sympathetic smile. “Hopefully he won’t be in too many of your classes this year.”

“One can only hope.” The two girls walked into the school and went to the bulletin board up in the front hall. “Hope we get good homeroom teachers.”

Weilai smiled. “Well, let’s see then! Could you tell me who’s my teacher?”

“Hmm…” Sasami looked for Weilai’s name and, once found, noted the homeroom teacher. “Looks like Miss Ginachi.”

“She’s supposed to be fun. If a bit weird…”

“I had her last year; she’s fun. She’s kind of a fangirl of the stuff she has us read but the books are interesting so I won’t complain. A word of caution though; all the books she assigns for reading are at least 500 pages if not more.”

Weilai groaned. “I’m still doing so poorly in learning to read Tagalog.”

“If you explain I’m sure she’ll understand. She’s pretty reasonable.” Sasami then turned back to search for her own name. After scanning the list she found herself; Jurai, Sasami. Her homeroom teacher was the relatively new Chemistry teacher, Tern Keo. Curious, she couldn’t help but look for another name. She found it quickly since the ‘K’s were close to the ‘J’s; Kinouna, Tenshi. Homeroom teacher? Tern Keo. “Fuck!”

Several heads turned towards Sasami. “What’s wrong?”

“Kinouna is in my homeroom.” Sasami gritted out.

“Ooooh….” Weilai made a face of deep sympathy. “I’m _really_ sorry about that.”

“Maybe I can transfer?” the older girl proposed hopefully, though she knew it was futile. “God must hate me.”

“Maybe try to see this positively? You could get to know him.”

The tall girl made a face. “I’d rather eat dirt.” Weilai shrugged as Sasami noted her room number. A few people came up to the teen girl, acquaintances from last year. Some were still in her homeroom while others were not. For 20 minutes she made pleasantries, trying to calm down as best she could. Eventually, the girls parted ways as they walked to their new homerooms with 10 minutes to spare. Sasami selected a seat near the front of the class and sat down, pulling out her pencil pouch that was decorated with stars on a dark blue background. Other students were shuffling in, chatting, plugged into their headphones or playing a game on their smart phone. She quietly watched the girls and boys clad in identical white, button up shirts and black plaid ties. However, whereas the girls had black plaid skirts, the boys had black plaid pants

It was a couple of minutes before class would start and Tenshi still hadn’t shown. Sasami felt her mood lift. _Maybe he got kicked out? Or he’s late or skipping?_ The girl hoped for the first option. A tall man with tanned skin and longer, curly hair tied back in a low ponytail entered the classroom with a large canvas satchel just as a male student slid down the hall to a stop behind the tall man. Tenshi walked in and quickly spotted the teen girl in the front row. He smiled and gave a mock salute, a white plaid face mask on his face to match his uniform. “Fancy seeing you here Princess. Are you sure you’re not stalking me?” he sassed.

“Get bent.”

“Only by you.” he winked, passing by as he went to the back of the class and took one of the few free seats left. It happened to be by the window. The bell rang and the whole class looked towards the front where the giant of a man who'd come in before Tenshi stood, writing his name on the smart board. He had on a forest green dress shirt and light brown work slacks. Once he finished writing his name he turned to face the class.

His deep green eyes scanned the teenagers clad in black and white. “Good morning students. My name is Tern Keo and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for this year. I am also the Chemistry teacher for all second years so we will be seeing quite a bit of one another.” He walked out from behind the large wooden desk and leaned back against the edge, relaxing a bit. “This will be my second year of teaching. As such, I’ll give the class 5 minutes to ask me any questions you have before we go around the classroom and introduce ourselves.”

Several hands shot up immediately, predominantly female. “Yes?” the teacher picked a student at random. It was a girl with her dark brown hair in a neat plait and finished off with an orange ribbon.

“How old are you? You look too young to be a teacher.” she asked.

“I’m not old!” a female voice chimed in from the door. The class and teacher turned in confusion.

Tern sighed. “Masako, no one said you’re old.” In the doorway was a young woman of average height, the front parts of her hair pulled back in a waterfall braid.

“By saying you’re too young to be a teacher, they’re saying indirectly that _I’m_ old.” Masako pouted. The students who had never been in the female teacher’s class looked at her as if she were insane.

“Shouldn’t you be in class? The 1st formers are all alone in your classroom. With your books. And manuscripts.”

“Fuck!” The woman turned to dash off before turning back again, causing her chiffon, knee-length lavender skirt to rustle and swish in a mini whirlwind. She glared in warning at the students in class. “Don’t use that kind of language in school.” The young woman then dashed off, heels clicking frantically.

“And that, students, is Miss Ginachi. She teaches Creative Writing for all the years in addition to English Literature to the 1st years. No doubt a few of you have had her last year as a teacher.” Mr. Keo turned back to his class. “As for my age, I’m 26. I just recently graduated and started teaching.” Hands shot up again. This time the student selected was a boy, an intricate design in his undercut and tribal style tattoos peeking out at his collarbones.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m originally from the USA.”

“How come you’re not white?” the same student asked. A few of the guys snickered.

Mr. Keo smiled patiently. “America has many races. I personally am a mixture of Filipino and German-American. I was born there so while I do know Tagalog, it’s my second language, not my first.”

“Are you single?” a mousey girl blurted out, her milky brown hair a mess of short and slightly frizzy curls. Several girls giggled.

“No, I’m currently engaged.” The tall man held up is right hand where the engagement ring flashed. Several girls let out a soft, disappointed sigh. “With that, time’s up. Now it’s your turn.” Staring from the teacher’s far right, the students introduced themselves one by one. Once the yearly ritual was finished, the typical syllabi were passed around. “A few house rules, in addition to what’s on the sheet; no face masks unless you truly are ill.” With that, several boys and girls – including Tenshi – grumbled unhappily but stripped off their face masks. Tenshi shoved the white plaid fabric into his school bag. “Second; if you need an extension on as assignment due to certain personal issues, please see me in private. Saying you forgot or were lazy or tired will not count as a viable excuse. However, if there was a death in the family or mental health issues that caused you to not finish the assignment, I consider these viable reasons. I only ask you do not abuse this privilege because I _will_ take it always if need be. And I mean take it away from the _whole_ class. Don’t be that guy.”

The students murmured amongst themselves, several of the more rule-following-inclined students like Sasami glaring at the more rowdy students like Tenshi. “Lastly; I am open to tutoring those students in need of some additional aid. The slots are limited and it will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Any questions?” There was silence. “Wonderful. For the rest of the period you may talk quietly amongst yourselves.”

 

\-----------------------------------

 

Weilai smiled as she spotted Sasami in her 3rd period classroom. She sat in the free spot next to the older girl. “How have you been so far Sasami- _seonbae_?”

“All right. Mr. Keo is pretty nice.”

“Handsome too from what I’ve heard.”

“And taken.”

“All the good ones are.”

“Weilai, he’s a _teacher_. It’s illegal.” Sasami reminded, setting out her notebook and pencils for Creative Writing. Miss Ginachi was in the front, chatting away with a 1st year student from the previous class about multi-dimensional reality mechanics in books.

The petite girl shrugged. “Won’t stop some girls Sasami- _seonbae_. And besides, it’s a very romantic idea, forbidden love. Taboo love. Always popular.”

Sasami simply hummed in reply. A soft chime went off on Weilai’s phone and she unlocked her screen to look at the new text message. She quickly replied back and then pocketed the device. The older girl gave her a confused look. “Who’s that?”

“Miku- _hubae_. She got a horrible algebra teacher apparently.”

“She’s at Sangang-Daan Middle School right? Where you were last year?”

Weilai nodded in conformation. “I still miss her.”

“Well she IS your best friend.” Sasami pointed out.

“Mmmm…” An odd look flickered across Weilai’s face but it disappeared so quickly Sasami wasn’t sure if she’d really seen it. “Anyway, this teacher is apparently-.”

“Miss Lanhua, gossip later. We’re about to start.” Miss Ginachi bellowed, making a few people snicker as the bell rang signaling the start of the period. “Now then class, I will be your Creative Writing teacher for this year. As you’ve probably noticed, this class is a mix of students from all years. There is a reason for this; creativity has no age limit. The Muses inspire whomever They so choose. It is _my_ hope…” The woman hopped onto the edge of her desk and sat, adjusting her fluffy skirt, “that when this year is through, your minds are bubbling with ideas, creativity and maybe even a novel or two. Any questions?”

The students said nothing, many unsure how to deal with the off-kilter energy of their teacher. “Oh, and please note; no writing smut in my class please. Keep those to yourselves. Any smut I see _will_ be read aloud by me to the whole class.”

 

\-----------------------------------

 

When the bell rang to signal the end of the current classes, Sasami decided to return to her little locker in homeroom and deposit her books for lunch. As she entered, several students were filing out, chatting in excitement. Once the deluge of students thinned, Sasami slipped into the classroom. Mr. Keo was putting his materials away for the hour before he himself went for lunch with Miss Ginachi. “What can I do for you Miss Jurai?” he asked, noticing her.

“Oh, I just want to deposit my books.”

“Sure thing. Just close the door behind you.” With that, the large man left the room. Alone, Sasami sighed, thinking back to the day so far. While it was a big pain in the ass for her that Tenshi was in her class, it seemed that was the only class they shared so far. The girl walked to the back of the room where the lockers were placed in alphabetical order. Really, they were more like cubbies but they were only meant to hold their extra books and not much else. Each small locker had a label carefully placed. All the labels were in alphabetical order by last name, meaning hers and Tenshi’s lockers were right next to one another. She childishly stuck her tongue out at the locker before opening her own. To her surprise, there was a small, blue velvet jewelry box inside.

 _What’s this?_ Sasami took the small box and put her books away in the locker before closing the wooden door. She turned the box this way and that before noticing there was a small white business card taped to the bottom of the box. She took it off and saw metallic silver calligraphy shining in the sun. “From your secret admirer.” she read aloud. She turned the card over to see something else written; ‘good luck’. “Good luck with what? School?” Sasami opened the box and felt her eyes widen; a pair of delicate sapphire and diamond studs set in silver twinkled sweetly back at her from the black velvet lining. “Oh my god…” she whispered.

Sasami wasn’t poor by any means. She would probably be considered rich though she personally didn’t feel that way; she was simply well off. As such, her mother and she had some gold and silver jewelry, though most of it was her mother’s. It made sense, seeing that Sasami was only 16, due to be 17 in a few days. Still, the sapphire’s color looked clear and deep, rich like the depths of the ocean. The diamonds sparkled like glitter even under the terrible fluorescent lights of the school. “This must have cost someone an arm and a leg.” she muttered to herself before snapping the small box closed.

Walking quickly, she went down the hall to the girl’s bathroom and closed the door behind her. The teen girl opened the box again and set it down on the edge of the sink. Sasami was currently wearing some small silver hoop earrings but she took them off in favor of the sapphire and diamond studs, placing the hoops in the box as she exchanged the pair.

As soon as she put the backing on the other earring she felt as if she’s been plunged into an icy pool, the feeling coating her like mesh and cooling off her skin which was a bit hot from the heat of the day and the poor A/C units in the school. Sasami blinked at her own reflection in confusion for a moment.

Then came the smells.

The smell of urine, strong chlorine and bleach, perfume, sweat, bad breath and Listerine, powdery makeup and deodorant burned her nose. She gagged, feeling bile rise up in her throat, her nose in intense pain. She bent over the sink, grabbing a thick section of her own long hair to press in front of her nose as a filter and covering her nose as well to try and block out the smell. She smelled her own cinnamon and vanilla shampoo mixing into the chorus now with no relief of the other scents. The center of her forehead ached like she’d been punched there.

Laughter drifted into the bathroom as a small group of girls walked in, gossiping to one another. Sasami didn’t even bother to look up, eyes now flush with tears. “What’s wrong with you Jurai?” Sasami recognized the voice; it belonged to one of the popular girls of the school. Her name escaped her in the midst of the smells and pain racking her body currently.

“You okay?” another of the girls piped up, her braided hair falling forward and flashing the orange ribbon tied at the end of it. She recognized Sasami from being in her homeroom class this morning.

“No!” Sasami choked out. Snot was now running down her face along with the tears. She could feel herself getting dizzy as her sense of smell was overwhelmed.

“Heard you’re in Kinouna’s homeroom. That sucks though at least you get eye candy.” the first girl offered as a positive spin, her green ribbon keeping her ponytail high and tight. She assumed that was the reason why the girl bent over the sink was upset.

Another girl with an pink ribbon twirled a strand of hair around her fingers. “I think he was working out this summer. If he’d take off that stupid jacket…”

A new scent suddenly filled Sasami’s nose overpowering every other smell. It was metallic and sharp, a coppery feel to it. She felt something thick and sticky running down her upper lip. She pulled her hand away and saw red smeared with the clear and watery layer of snot and matted into her hair. “What…” There were orange and black spots dancing along the edge her vision and closing in.

“Is that blood?!” the last girl of the group with a sunny yellow scarf headband shrieked, taking a few steps back. The loud declaration drew a few of the students milling in the hallway the bathroom occupied. Sasami couldn’t even reply, too overwhelmed by the smell of her own blood and the intense pain of her nose and forehead.

The high school girl’s legs gave way to the cold and somewhat dirty bathroom floor. She barely felt her head hit the metal sink or the group of popular girls scream in shock. Darkness gave her relief from the smells.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry-not sorry about the cliffhanger! I also couldn't help but slip in a slight self-promo for the book.  
> Kudos/comments are appreciated. ^-^


	3. The Umitim

Gali perked up when she spotted Tenshi in Chemistry class. He was leaning back on his chair, balancing a pen on the bridge of his nose. The short-haired girl sat down next him. “Fancy meeting you here.” 

“We gotta stop meeting like this Gali; people will talk.” Tenshi grinned back, letting his chair fall forward again and catching the pen in his hands as it fell.

“There’s a rumor going around someone fainted in the girl’s bathroom during lunch.” one of the gang members who was in the class mentioned. He leaned forward on his desk behind Tenshi.

“Who?” the Yanki girl asked, brows furrowed.

The grunt shrugged. “Beats me. But there was blood I heard.” he grinned.

Tenshi sighed. “We literally just started school; can the overly-dramatic crap happen later? Like during mid-terms or something?”

“You’re asking too much of the universe Lord Kinouna.” the other boy sighed.

“Wonder what happened…” Gali mused, resting her cheek on her hand as Mr. Keo came in. 

“You’ll want to take off your masks.” the dark eyed boy advised his friends who quickly stripped the aforementioned article from their faces.

The tall teacher unloaded his materials onto the desk and turned to the class as the bell rang. A hand shot up quickly, startling the man a bit. “Yes?”

“Is Sasami okay?" 

Mr. Keo quickly looked at his student roster. “You’re Miss Achara correct?” The girl nodded, her yellow ribbon bouncing a bit. “Miss Sasami is recovering in the nurse’s office. She should be fine but will be missing today’s class.” The whispers started right away.

 

“Fainted?” “Shit, what did the Ice Queen do?”

“What, her ‘delicate sensibilities’ suddenly take over or somethin’?”

“Attention whore.”

“She’s probably fakin’ or something.”

 

“That is quite enough.” The teacher’s usually gentle voice seemed to boom throughout the room, silencing the teenagers. “Thank you. I will be handing out the syllabus for this class; take one and pass it back please.”

As the papers were passed back, Tenshi worried his bottom lip. He didn’t like how things were sounding with regards to Sasami. He felt Tokiko press gently against him in his shirt pocket, her warmth grounding and a reminder of where he was. _What happened to Sasami?_

 

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

Her forehead was throbbing dully, nostrils aching and sore somehow. Despite all this, though, the smells were quickly coming back. Sasami whimpered in pain and fear, curling in on herself; she could smell laundry detergent, chlorine and bleach, something musty that made her shudder and perfume.

“Focus on the scents and then pull back.” a calm, deep voice said somewhere outside of her scratchy blanket cocoon. “Think of it like the water; you’re swimming in the ocean, not in the stream.”

“It hurts…” the teen girl sobbed, tears running down into the pillow now.

“I know; your body’s taken very quickly to the Miraculous powers.” Sasami didn’t understand what the voice meant or even who it was but she tried to do as told; she stopped trying to block out the smells swirling around and let it wash over her. She felt like she was getting dragged down by a rip current and shuddered violently. “Now try to slowly pull back. Slowly.” The girl did, trying to focus on the scent of the cheap laundry detergent the sheets smelled of, the smell of her own cinnamon-vanilla-shampoo-scented hair. The other smells faded into a quiet murmur and the pain seemed to ebb though it was still there like a phantom wound. “Good job.”

Sasami pushed the covers off her head and sat up, blinking at the fluorescent lights. “How did you know…what was…” she trailed off as she looked around and saw no one. “What…?”

“You like to sleep a lot, don’t you?” the voice said. Sasami looked around until she spotted the odd thing out; a hovering, shimmering silver shark the size of her palm. It looked up at her with silver eyes, body moving from side to sig and tail flicking as if it couldn’t stay still. Sasami immediately fell back down onto the thin mattress, turned her back to the shark and pulled the cover over her head.

“Good night.”

“Hey!!!”

The high school girl ignored the indignant cry of the silver creature, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep. _I think I smacked my head harder than I thought when I fell._ “Welp, this I the first time I’m lucid dreaming so cool, let’s change it to a nice bedroom scene with a hot guy…”

There was tugging at the blanket from the other side. “This is not a dream you spoiled little girl!” the deep voice said. Sasami guessed it was the voice of the shark creature.

“Nope. Read enough _mahou shojou_ it know where this goes. Find someone else please.”

“Well; it’s you.”

“Nope.”

“Throwing a tantrum and pretending I’m not here won’t make me go away." 

“Sure about that?” Sasami challenged, peeking over the edge of the blanket, light brown eyes challenging.

Somehow she felt like the little shark was giving her a deadpan stare. “You know, I could pump more power into those earrings and purposefully knock you out. Make you a true damsel in distress.”

“You wouldn’t…” Right away the smells seemed to increase; dust, the scent of dirt, of garbage and sweat. “OKAY OKAY!!!!” Everything dialed back to the barely tolerable range as she sprang up, sitting again. “Oh my God my magical girl mascot is a total dick.”

“Oh my God, my ‘magical girl’ is a total brat.” the deep voice snarked back. Sasami glared as the shark swam forward a bit. “My name is Zenshou.”

“Sasami.” The high schooler suddenly hid her face in her hands. “Oh my God I am introducing myself to a magical glowing shark.” she muttered.

“Could be worse; you could have been compatible with Zhaochu. I pity the poor young lady or gentleman who becomes his partner.”

She peaked out from between her fingers. “Gentleman? You mean guys are candidates too?”

“Magical compatibility doesn’t discriminate.” the shark explained. “As long as your will is strong enough and your metaphysical body is of similar quality as the Miraculous, that’s all that’s needed. The magical outfit will adjust to male or female.”

Sasami sighed. “Okay so what-.” Before she could ask her question, the door knob turned. She lifted the blankets pooled at her lap and Zenshou quickly darted in. The fabric fell back down as the door opened. The girl could feel smooth coolness curled up by the side of her outer thigh and guessed that’s where her new ‘friend’ was settling.

“Are you feeling all right Miss Jurai?” the school nurse asked. “You gave everyone quite the shock.”

“I feel a bit better now.” she smiled. “Um… who brought me here?”

“Mr. Keo I believe. Miss Ginachi was all a’twitter as well, very concerned about the blood. She’ll be happy to know it was just a simple nosebleed and not that you’d cracked your head on the bathroom sink or floor!”

“Oh. I’ll need to thank them.” As the nurse went about checking her temperature, blood pressure or signs for cuts or scraps, Sasami thought quietly to herself. _The shark said something about a Miraculous… did he mean the earrings?_ She reached up and lightly touched the innocent-seeming jewelry. _When I put them on, I felt cool, like I’d jumped into a poor in the heat of summer. And that’s when the smells started too. So maybe these are the ‘Miraculous’ Zenshou was talking about? …God, and why am I taking this so seriously?_

“Well Miss Jurai, you seem to be in order. Why not wait a little longer; the current class is almost over anyway.” the woman suggested as a knock sounded on the door.

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._ Gali could feel her sanity slowly slipping as Tenshi kept taping the pen against the desk. “I swear if you don’t cut that shit out I’m gonna smack you with my bat after school as payback.” Gali hissed as the rest of the class was completing the small starting assignment Mr. Keo had given out. Gali and Tenshi were only half-trying with Gali preferring to read her book and Tenshi staring into space tapping that incessant pen of his. “Actually; I’m STILL gonna smack you for that hentai comment. Don’t think I forgot jackass.”

“I was just joking around.” Tenshi replied absent-mindedly.

The short-haired girl rolled her eyes. “Oh look, Jurai’s back.” Tenshi’s head turned to the door right away, eyes focusing again. When he realized he’d been duped, he felt the back of his neck heat up as Gali cackled beside him.

“What was that for?!”

“My entertainment.” Gali smirked. “Seriously Boss; just ask her out. It’s pathetic how you’re mooning over her.”

“I told you before; Ice Queen. I even started that nickname, or did that slip your mind.”

“And yet that doesn’t stop you from wanting her and making yourself look like pervert.”

“Hey Gali, how’s _your_ love life?” Tenshi asked, Shanghai-ing the topic and grinning at his childhood friend.

“Whatever it is, it’s not making me look like a love-struck puppy.” Gali grinned back, dark blue eyes flashing. “And P.S; Yun agrees with me.”

Tenshi hissed between his teeth, wishing he could have his mask. “That’s low Gali.”

“Dude. Everyone. Knows. Everyone with a brain or not chasing after _your_ ass anyway.” The Yanki girl tipped her chair back until the back his the next row of desks. “Come on; ask her out or move on and date another girl. God knows you’re a dog.”

“I’m not a dog; I am exploring my options. I’m single and young; fuck you.”

“I thought we agreed that wasn’t happening?”

The boy simply rolled his eyes. “Are you both done?” a quiet voice asked. Both students jumped guiltily as Mr. Keo stood over them. The pair mumbled some half-thought-out excuses, avoiding eye contact. “Mr. Kinouna, since your head seems to be in the clouds, why don’t you go to the nurse’s office and drop off the homework and assignment Miss Jurai missed?”

“You know I’m a ‘bad kid’ right?” Tenshi asked, making air quotes with his fingers.

“Are you?” the teacher countered, eyebrow raised. The boy went quiet, unsure how to respond. “Since you’re both in my homeroom I thought you would be best. And you don’t seem to care to complete the assignment.”

“Yes sir.” Tenshi replied, standing up with a sigh and coming down the inclined aisle to the front desk. Mr. Keo handed him a manila folder and the teen left, walking down the halls slowly and letting his mind drift. “Hey Tokiko.”

“Hmmm?” The red-gold bird poked her head up from the shirt pocket she occupied, gold eyes blinking.

“When are these monsters gonna come out anyway?”

“I’m not sure. But they’ll come eventually.” Tokiko nuzzled against Tenshi’s chest. “I just hope I helped train you enough by then.”

Tenshi stopped and glanced around. Seeing the hall empty, he hid a bit to the side of a vending machine before taking the small, warm creature out. “Is it possible the enemy would try bioweapons? Like viruses and poison in the air?

“No, not this enemy.” She looked up. “You’re thinking about that girl from this morning.”

“Why is everyone saying that?!” the delinquent hissed in irritation. “I don’t give a fuck about her. The incident just got me thinking what kind of enemy I might be facing is all.”

The magical being giggled. ”Men are always most noble when in love.” Tenshi let out a noise of disgusted irritation. “But they’re also most cruel then too.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re too young for that part of romance anyway.” Tokiko dismissed. “As for the enemies, I should probably tell you, huh?”

“That’d be nice.” the boy deadpanned.

“Well…” The red-gold bird stretched its wings. “While I don’t know your opponent’s ultimate goal, I do remember the method; the Umitim.”

“Bless you?”

The magical creature laughed. “That’s what they’re called silly. They’re not quite like most “evil bad guys” in comics or video games. They’re people whose negative emotions have been taken advantage of. You see, humans have both positive and negative in them, always ebbing and flowing as external circumstances present themselves.”

“Like yin and yang?”

“In a way. Yin and Yang is one term for it. When someone feel negative emotions – sorrow, anger, jealousy, vengeance – it calls to the Umitim, inviting them into the person’s heart. In return for feeding off their negative emotions, the Umitim inside the person grants that person power to act out their negative emotion.”

“But negative emotions aren’t always bad.” Tenshi countered.

“That’s true. But the thing is, the influence of the Umitim represses and destroys all restrain. I’ll give an example.” Tokiko hopped up Tenshi’s arm to his right shoulder. “Let’s say an Umitim took over this girl you call Princess. Sasami, right?” Tenshi nodded. “Let’s say an Umitim took over when she was angry at you for your harassment of her.”

“It’s not-.”

“It’s harassment. Don’t sass me boy.” Tokiko snapped, gold eyes blazing and daring Tenshi to challenge her. “So let’s say an Umitim takes over. Most people have restraint, understanding they can’t just react violently like savage animals. But the Umitim takes that away. So instead of responding with, say, a restraining order or avoiding you or verbally chewing you out, she would not only physically attack you, but not be satisfied until you’re dead.” She tilted her head. “Kind of disproportionate, don’t you think?”

“Yeah a little.”

“And because that person’s mind has become so simplified, the person making the Umitim can easily manipulate and control them to do their bidding. Especially once they fulfilled the solution to what caused their negative emotion in the first place.”

Tenshi nodded in understanding, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, re-tucking the folder under his arm since it was slipping a bit. “Then what do these Umitim look like?”

“….birds. Small black birds, shimmering red.” Tokiko muttered as she looked off into the distance, trying to remember. “But they didn’t used to be like that. Used to be white and pink. Positive…” Tenshi waited patiently, knowing Tokiko was having another moment. “What were we talking about again?”

“The Umitim.” the high schooler reminded her patiently.

“Right right. So, they will be small black birds hidden in an object on the person possessed. You need to break that object, releasing the Umitim, catch it and purify it with your fire. But it’s not just your regular fire.” the bird cautioned. “You need to purify it with your Phoenix Fire.”

“You haven’t taught me to do that!”

“I was getting to it!” Tokiko argued. “It’s not hard once you know how to use fire in general. You’ve been practicing, right? 

“Yes _mom_.” He rolled his eyes and the magical companion nodded happily. “So how does it work?”

“So impatient… All you need to do is think positive things, positive emotions and intentions. And then breathe fire over it. That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Mmm, well the tricky bit is the positive bit. How to explain…” Tokiko stretched her wings, thinking. Tenshi looked around, seeing it was still quiet. He pulled his smart phone from his pants pocket and saw there would only be 10 minutes of class. “You want to want that Umitim to heal. Remember, it came because that person you pull it from was hurting in some way; they were backstabbed, abandoned, hurt, abused, upset, sad, listless. When you breath your fire onto it, you have to want that person to feel better, to have hope again and the comfort of knowing that somehow, in some way, things will start to heal again.”

“Like rising from the ashes. Like a Phoenix.” the teen muttered.

“Exactly like that. Ginto Piniks can’t just be a good fighter; he or she must be sympathetic to the pain of the opposition. Otherwise everything becomes mindless violence.”

The boy closed his eyes, letting the words sink in. “…this is more than just cool powers and beating the shit out of someone evil huh?”

“The Umitim aren’t evil and neither are the people they possess. They’re just in a negative alignment. No creature is so negative they are evil.”

“I beg to differ…”

The bird said nothing in response, sensing it would be better not to argue. “One word of caution though.” Tenshi opened an eye. “Injuries you get while Ginto Piniks stay when you change back.”

“I figures that one out already, remember?”

“But it’s the same for the person possessed by the Umitim; if you gravely injure them, they’ll die.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” the boy exclaimed in shock. “How the fuck am I supposed to fight!?”

“Be cleaver. A weapon can be offensive and defensive. You won’t be able to help doing SOME injury but just be careful it’s not life-threatening.”

“Fuck!” Tenshi slammed the back of his head against the vending machine.

The magical bird hopped off and fluttered near her partner. “I told you this would be hard.”

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

A familiar face popped up from behind the door when it opened. Sasami felt herself smile. “Taka!”

“I got a call you fainted and there was blood.” The young man opened the door fully and came in. “Is she all right?”

“Just a nose bleed. I think the whole thing simply appeared scarier than it actually was.” the nurse reassured. “And you are…?”

“Takahiro Jurai. I’m a cousin of hers.”

“Ah, I see. Well, feel free to visit. Please let me know if you’ll be pulling her from school today due to the injury so I can let the main office know.”

“Thank you.” The nurse closed the door behind her as the man pulled a chair up and spun in around, straddling it as he sat down, resting his arms on the back while he looked at the teen girl in bed. “Day 1 and you’re already making trouble, huh Sasami?”

“I am not.” the girl snapped back, face going red. “It’s just a stupid nose bleed. Everyone else is making it a big deal.”

Her cousin smiled affectionately. “That’s because everyone worries about a lady, don’t you think? Even in today’s society of “strong women”, a lady will still be protected covetously.”

Sasami snorted. “Yeah, I’m such a lady all right.”

“Well you’ll always be _my_ lady.”

“You need to get a girlfriend. Shower _her_ with those compliments.”

Takahiro simply chuckled. “So, how has school been so far this year?”

“It’s been mostly okay.”

“Mostly?” The college student raised an eyebrow.

Sasami sighed. “Remember that delinquent who was harassing me last year?” The man nodded. “He’s still here. And in my home room.”

“Ah. That’s what’s upset my lady today.” he nodded sagely. “Luckily I have a remedy that will make it less bitter.”

“What?”

Takahiro held up a finger, indicating for her to wait as he reached down and pulled his backpack into his lap. Emblazoned on it was the De La Salle University logo. “I just so happened to pass by a small deli and brought you lunch. Figured you’d be hungry.” He pulled out a still-slightly warm Panini.

She smiled as her cousin handed her the sandwich. “Thank you Taka!” She bit into the crisp bread; rich cheese, cured meat and spices coated her tongue. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she’d missed lunch. She felt something small, smooth and cool bump her outer thigh.

_“I want some too.”_

Sasami jolted, looking around wildly. “Sasami?” Takahiro looked at her in confusion.

“Sorry I thought I heard someone knock.” she lied. The man got up and walked to the door to check. Sasami tore off a piece and slid his hand under the covers to the cool spot by her thigh. She felt the magical shark take the food. _How the crap did I hear that and he didn’t?_

_“I spoke to you in your mind. Telepathy only happens when the Miraculous and the user have had plenty of time to bond.”_ Zenshou explained to Sasami. _“If we can already do that, I think you might be somewhat of a prodigy at this.”_

_Awesome; I can magically talk to you yet I can’t stop being a klutz. That’s useful._ She took another bite as Takahiro opened the door. ”Yes?”

“Uh… is Jurai here?” Sasami looked up at the voice. Her cousin was taller than him, but Sasami still recognized Tenshi’s voice.

“She is. Are you a classmate of hers?”

“Yeah, the teacher sent me to bring her the chemistry assignment.”

“Ah, thank you.” Takahiro looked back to Sasami, questioning if he should let the student in or not. Sasami shook her head violently, eyes wide. He gave her a questioning look but turned back. “She’s still not feeling the best so I don’t think she’s up for another visitor.”

“All right. That’s fine.” The girl blinked. _Was that… disappointment? What, to try and piss me off more?_ But the disappointment didn’t sound malicious; it sounded genuine. She furrowed her brows in confusion as Takahiro closed the door and came back over.

“You know him?”

“That’s the delinquent. That’s Kinouna.”

“Ah.” He placed the manila folder on her lap and with one hand she held onto the Panini to eat while the other opened and flipped through the papers.

“He sounded upset that I turned him away.”

“Oh no, he doesn’t get to harass his favorite play toy.” she responded dryly.

Takahiro grinned. “I think he likes you Sasami.”

“Not you too!” she groaned.

“Boys his gave tend to be immature.”

“It’s not an excuse to be an asshole.”

“Oh it’s not; I’m just saying I think that’s the motivation behind it. But feel free to smack him around as punishment; you know dad’ll win the case in court.” Takahiro stated cheekily, causing the other Jurai to smirk in satisfaction at the thought.

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

The rest of the school day passed quickly for Tenshi and soon he was out in the humid, putrid air of an alleyway, several boxes of spray cans at his feet. An already paint-splattered mask over his face and he snatched up a can of white paint. “All right boys and girls; this is today’s canvas. Let’s make it colorful.” The rest of the gang members grabbed a paint can, coming together in small groups or pairs to start planning their masterpiece for the week. “Got an idea Gali?” he asked is second in command.

“I’m feeling the ocean. It’s too fucking hot.”

“It’s June.”

“So? And I can’t afford those fancy, clean tourist beaches.” Gali reached down and took a dark and light blue can of paint before walking down the alley, observing her options for the canvas. After a bit she found a section she liked. It already had graffiti on it, tags from more violent gangs, messages about who fucked whom and who was selling what drugs in code. Without hesitation, the girl pulled off the top of the dark blue paint and started to spray in large arcs, trying to get the base color of deep blue onto the dirty bricks. Soon the dark blue was being overlaid with light blue, white, teal, deep green, all layered and blended. Tenshi stood back, handing his best friend the colors as she demanded them.

Tokiko stuck her head up covertly, watching the paint spray in quiet awe. “She’s really good.” the bird said quietly.

“Yeah…” Tenshi could feel pride for his friend swelling up in his chest. “I keep telling her to try for an art scholarship overseas.”

The Yanki girl took a few steps back, satisfied. “Now to wait so I can put the second layer on.”

“Seriously; start making a portfolio and apply Gali.”

“I don’t think they’d accept graffiti as an art submission.”

“Course they will.” he countered, pulling down his mask and reaching for a Black & Mellow. The brand new pack was wine flavored. “You should at least try; the worst they can say is ‘no’. ONE of us should get out of this hell.”

Gali shrugged. “Mmmm, might be right.” A sudden, sharp cry, like claws on metal screeched through Tenshi’s ears. He let out a cry of pain, dropping the unlit cigar and clutched his ears. “Oi!”

“S-shit…” He felt Tokiko shoving against his chest and a sense of fear rose up like bile; that was it. That was what an Umitim sounded like. Another painful screech resounded and the boy cringed. However, another sound was beginning to mix with the metallic sound; the sound of a girl screaming in horror. _No! Someone’s being attacked!_ Faint images, like well-worn paper memories, came forward; the scent of smoke, char, cooking meat and burning heat and screams.

“Boss, what’s wrong?” one of the gang members asked.

“H-headache. Gonna grab some pills.” he mumbled, stumbling away as fast as he could. He vaguely heard Gali calling after him but he ignored her, running away and down several alleyways until he was alone.

Tokiko came out of his shirt pocket, completely serious. “It’s time Tenshi. It’s happening.” The teen was still listening to the girl thanks to his enhanced hearing. She was sobbing now, calling for help. She sounded helpless, fearful.

Despite the sick feeling in his stomach, the apprehension and uncertainty, the teenager knew he couldn’t let this girl die. He almost wanted to cry with how scared he was to mess up. However, he knew tears would do nothing right now. “Tokiko, wings out!” The now familiar gold light covered him, Tokiko being sucked into the ruby of the ring. As he felt his clothes change, a sense of jittery calm and certainty took over. _I’m fucking terrified but that girls’ probably scared shitless. And the person being used by the Umitim is probably just as scared at what’s happening to them. I’m the only one who can help; I have to do this or I can’t live with myself for running away._ He felt the weight on his hip from the katana, once feared but suddenly soothing.

When the light faded, he quickly climbed up the alley’s fire escape and up to the roof. The air was still and stifling, but he focused on his hearing, trying to pinpoint where the Umitim was. After a few seconds he had the general direction. He spread his arms, letting the wing-like sleeves unfurl, He ran to the edge of the 5-story apartment building roof he was on, jumped, and willed his “wings” to catch the wind. He was rewarded and continued to glide towards his goal.

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

The little girl crying in the alley had needed help. Sasami could see the way she shook and the bruises on her arm. Had she known this would happen, she would have just walked away. Now her back was pressed to the wall, legs shaking at the blackened creature the girl had become.

When Sasami had come over and asked what was wrong, the girl and hiccupped that she had run away from some boys who had been bullying her and trying to hit her. Before the teen girl could console the little one or even ask who those boys were to give them a piece of her mind, a small, black bird had landed in front of the small, crying girl. Its feathers had shimmered red in the sun, meaning it wasn’t a raven. It was too small for that anyway. The girl had looked at the bird in curiosity while the smaller girl seemed to go into a trance. With a sudden, metallic cry the bird had turned to black mist and cloaked the little girl’s school-issues sun hat. The mist had then covered the girl, causing Sasami to back up; the miasma smelled sticky-sweet and foul. When the mist cleared, the monster was in the girl’s place.

She’d screamed.

Before, Sasami had prided herself in knowing that should she be attacked she would fight back. It seemed that in practice this wasn’t quite true. Her mind was still reeling, trying to catch up with reality. She screamed again, letting out a pathetic sob as her legs gave way. Her hand gripped her schoolbag tight, knuckles white.

“What are you doing!? Transform and fight!” Zenshou exclaimed from her bag, trying to get out but being too shut in. Sasami didn’t seem to register the instructions, breath harsh. The creature lifting its spindly, too-long limb and swiped at her. Instinct took over and Sasami ducked away, getting batted to the side. She fell to the concrete, smacking her cheek hard. She tasted blood; she’d bitten her own tongue harshly in the fall. “Sasami, get a hold of yourself!”

“What is that thing?!” she gasped.

“It’s an Umitim, the enemy.”

“B-but she was just a little kid 2 seconds ago!”

“Not anymore. It’s fight or get killed.” Zenshou warned. “Change, quick!”

“I-!” The creature turned to her, eyes red and glowing despite the late afternoon sun. Its face seemed to almost split in two, showing rows of sharp teeth and dripping drool.

“ _Ate_ …” The voice was somehow painfully high-pitched, a grating squall from a little girl. It reached again for the girl who stayed frozen, not even able to move; it was the stuff of nightmares. Something deep red and gold suddenly covered her vision as the blow never came. Panting, she focused on the red and gold creature in front of her. It was a boy, maybe around her age, clad in rich red silks and with gold hair. And she meant gold; it shone and sparkled as the sun caught it like the true gold metal.

“Fuck, barely made it…” the boy grunted out before pushing back against the creature’s hand. It let out an almost petulant sounding screech. Sasami realized the boy was holding a golden sword of some kind. “Are you all right?” He glanced briefly back at her; his eyes were like molten gold.

“Y-yeah…”

“Get out of here. Now!” His harsh shout and the end finally spurred Sasami to scramble up and run away. If she had given her hero and accidental panty shot, so be it. As she ran, she saw others running, calling the police. People locked apartment doors, stores pulled down metal shutters.

Her arm and cheek throbbed from the fall but she kept running, breath erratic and in gasps. When she rounded into an alleyway to hide and catch her breath, she realized Zenshou was struggling to get free from her bag. With shaking hands she clumsily opened the clasp and the silver shark darted out. “You can’t run away!” he snapped. “You can’t just leave your partner in the lurch!”

“I’m _scared_!!” Sasami screamed back, everything too much. She let herself crumble back down to the dirty street. “I’m so fucking scared and I can’t do this!! I don’t know anything!!!” she sobbed, arms wrapped around herself. She felt cold, shaking with fear. Zenshou swam around her.

“Sasami, listen. Please. It’s okay to be scared.” she magical shark soothed, voice surprisingly gentle. “You’re a young woman with little experience in fighting. I understand. Being afraid is a natural, normal reaction. It doesn’t mean you’re not the right person.” The girl in question looked up. “I’ve had many partners before you, Miraculous users and heroes from all around the world. You’re the first to synch so quickly to your powers, to me. Please; have faith in yourself.” Zenshou swam up to be right at Sasami’s face. “I have faith in you. And you’re not doing this alone. Never alone. Okay?”

“…okay…” she whispered, hiccupping a bit. “Okay…”

“First, wipe your tears.” the shark advised. The teen girl did as told, hiccupping and disliking the sensation of smearing her own snot onto her bare forearm. “All you need to do is say “Hunt’s on”. That’s it. If you could move your hair aside when I get absorbed into the sapphire of the earrings that would be helpful as well.” Sasami nodded, slowly standing up again. She felt a bit unsteady, her arm and cheek still throbbing. She looked around and found the name of the street the ally was on before tucking her school back behind a metal trash can.

“Hunt’s on.” she repeated, voice a bit shaky as she tucked her hair behind her ears. Zenshou dissolved into silvery mist that was sucked into her right earring. Silver light covered the high school girl and a gentle coolness washed over her like ice, soothing her frayed nerves and emotions. When the light went away, she looked down at herself. Her hair had become incredibly long, a shimmering silver that was restrained into two fishtail braids. She had dark blue shoes and silky pant that went just below the knees. A top with wide sleeves akin to a _kimono_ or _hanfu_ covered her torso and over that was another layer of pale blue, silky material, crossing over her front and down the front and back. Silver wave designed covered the hem of the pale blue layer and a white obi-like sash covered her middle

“Oh wow…” She could feel a mask partially covering her face though she didn’t know what color it was. “Okay… okay…” In her left hand was a silver bow with intricate designs. The scents around her assaulted her sense of smell and she had to wait a few moments, clutching her nose awkwardly and she dialed down her sense just like Zenshou had told her earlier in the day. Once done, she swallowed. “Time to go… oh God, please don’t lie me die; I haven’t even had my first kiss yet.”

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

Sweat ran down Tenshi’s back, making the silk of his outfit stick unpleasantly to his skin. He had been looking for any hint as to where the Umitim was seeded but no luck at all. And he was getting tired. He raised his katana once more and blocked the creature’s swipes. “Need to punish the meanies!!!” it screeched, causing the boy to grit his teeth against the pain.

“Okay, the person possessed HAS to be a little kid. No one else talks like that.” he muttered to himself. “Shit, I can’t hurt a little kid… where is the stupid Umitim?!”

“Somewhere on its head!” A female voice called down from the alley. Tenshi turned and saw a figure of blue and silver before being hit hard by a spindly limb. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah… just great…” Tenshi replied sarcastically. “I love getting banged around. I’m secretly a masochist ya know.”

The girl snickered in amusement as she ran over to help him up. “I think the Umitim is on its head somewhere. It disappeared into the hat of a little girl.”

“How do you know?” he questioned, looking up to her face for the first time. Frosty silver eyes looked back, face obscured by a dark blue mask. Still, he could see sharp cheekbones and full, soft lips from her being so close. _Wow… she’s beautiful._

“I heard a school girl sobbing hysterically about it to a friend of hers on the phone. Black and white uniform.”

Tenshi nodded. “Good, she got to safety. Well then…” he looked back to the monster who was once a little girl. “How do we hit it? The alley’s too narrow. Not the best for using a katana without seriously hurting her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently any damage does doesn’t change magically back. We could actually kill her.”

“Oh God…” The super girl looked a bit ill at the thought. “Okay… okay…” The monster was trying to turn around to face them again, the confined space causing its long limbs to get caught. It screeched in anger and frustration. The other girl’s silver eyes seemed to scan until she spotted something. “There!! Do you see it on top? A weird horn shaped like an anemone flower?”

“Uh… kind of?”

“I think that’s it.” The girl turned her silver gaze to Tenshi. “Can you distract her while I climb to the roof? I’ll have a better shot and be less likely to miss.”

The teen grimaced. “If you miss you’ll shoot her head.”

“I don’t have a choice.” the girl replied, looking nervous. “Can you do it?”

“Yeah, I think I can. Be quick about it.” She nodded and dashed off, just as the beast turned. While the dark blue seemed to be helping the girl blend in with the late afternoon shadows, his own rich crimson clothes made him an easy target. “Why the fuck am I fodder?!” Tenshi hissed to himself before blocking. When he pushed the claw back for the nth time, he ran his palm against the smooth side of the blade, willing for it to be awash with fire. The steel burst into flames, casting harsh, deep shadows on the brickwork. The creature shrieked in fear, backing away clumsily from the fire.

“No burn, no burn!” it sobbed in its metal-claw voice. A flash of silver caught Tenshi’s attention; the girl was pulling back the string of a silver bow, a matching silver arrow appearing out of nowhere, already knocked. The creature was flailing around, causing the super heroine’s vantage point to become naught. 

Tenshi bit his bottom lip, having what he was about to do. He rushed forward, and plunged his blade into the being’s lower leg, causing it to scream in pain but stop flailing. The girl above let her arrow lose and hit her mark. The flower-like horn shattered and a small, black-red bird was revealed. The bird starched its wings to fly. “Catch it!!!” Tenshi screamed. The girl jumped down, snatching the bird just as it started to lift off, her speed and dexterity incredible. She fell on top of the creature who, not a few moments later, seemed to dissolve into black mist, revealing a little girl of around 4 years old, blood dripping from her left calf.

The super heroine fell and Tenshi dashed forward, catching her from smashing into the pavement. The Umitim struggling in her hard, trying to wriggle free to infect someone else. “Do we kill it?”

“No, give it here.” the hero instructed as he put his partner down. She let out a yelp of pain as the small bird in her hand hid her with its hard beak. 

“Fucking piece of shit, you take it!” she growled, shoving the bird into Tenshi’s hand. He quickly took hold of it and closed his eyes, ignoring the struggling or how the creature bit into his leather gloves to try and hurt him. He focused on his breathing, on wanting to change the bird as Tokiko had told him. He thought of the little girl he was now hearing, crying earlier from someone being mean to her. Her innocent heart being injured already by cruelty. He felt an empathetic clenching in his chest. _I don’t want this little girl to end up like I have…_ A surprisingly intense warmth seemed to brand itself in his chest, rising up his throat. Instinctually, he exhaled but this time through his mouth, over the struggling Umitim. He felt the warmth leave his mouth, wafting over the being in his hands. When he finished his slow exhale, the squirming in his hands had stopped. He opened his gold eyed and saw innocent pink eyes look back at him.

The Umitim was now a beautiful, pure white bird, dark pink-red shimmer coating its feathers. The little bird rested calmly in Tenshi’s grip, looking at him innocently. “You changed it.” He looked up to see the silver-haired girl looking in awe at him with the little girl who’d been possessed watching wide-eyed.

“Yeah, it’s a super power I have.” Tenshi admitted sheepishly. The bird in his grasp wriggled unhappily and he let it go. It spread its wings and flew off into the sunset sky.

“Bye bye birdie!” the little girl called out as the sound of sirens reached Tenshi’s hearing.

“Let’s go.”

“We can’t just leave her! Her leg’s been stabbed.” the girl pointed out. Tenshi winced in guilt. He noticed the sash around the girl’s wait was narrower now having been used to wrap up the little girl’s leg.

She picked up the little girl who looked between the two super heroes with wide, trusting eyes. “They leave her near the alleyway entrance. The cops are already on their way.”

“How do you know that?”

“Hearing.”

“Mmmm. It’s smell for me.”

“Ouch.”

“You have no idea…” she sighed. “And I’m not leaving a 4 year old alone in an alley, bleeding.

The teen boy fidgeted. “Cops make me nervous.” he mumbled.

“Well tough. Besides, we’re super heroes or magical girls or whatever, right? We’re on their side.” She watched Tenshi bit his chapped lips.

“Okay. Fine.” He scooped up the little girl who clung to him obediently, the salt of her tears drying on her cheeks, before walking towards the sirens at the end of the alleyway, his silver haired partner at his heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this came out late. Last week I got swamped with a lot of work so I ACTUALLY had to do work instead of... well, writing this. I actually wrote this chapter in one day so... yeah. I'm tired guys...
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an AU that started silly, light and for fun since I do enjoy Miraculous Ladybug. And then my villain came into the mix and it went downhill... There are still going to be lots of fun moments and silly moments but the overall undertone will be darker than the original Miraculous Ladybug.
> 
> I hope you enjoy and comments/kudos are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Edit 6/3: I updated this chapter a bit. The content is the same but some working and flow were smoothed out. I was a bit eager to publish. ^^;


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